shimmer

Witchvox Poll

Who will you be voting for in the US Presidential Election?

John F. Kerry (D): 74.1%
George W. Bush (R): 17.4%
Michael Badnarik (L): 3.9%
Ralph Nader (I): 2.2%
Other: 1.5%
David Cobb (G): 0.8%
Michael Peroutka (C): 0.1%

Total Votes Cast: 4617


I just can't believe GW has 17% of the Pagan vote! So, if you are a Pagan Republican, or a Pagan who supports Bush (these two do not necessarily go together these days), I'd love to hear why... what is it you like about him?

Posted by Jean at 4:51 PM | Permalink | Comments

Posted by Jean at 1:42 PM | Permalink | Comments

I've been reading more lately, in part thanks to my involvement at Bookcrossing.com, which I highly recommend.

The two specifically Witchcraft-related books I've been reading, on and off again, over the last few weeks are Evolutionary Witchcraft, by T. Thorn Coyle, and The Earth Path, by Starhawk. I've included the Amazon links here, but if you are interested in these books, I strongly recommend ordering them from your local independent bookstore or from Powells.com.

I've talked about both these books on this blog before, so I'll keep this piece brief. Evolutionary Witchcraft is really quite an accomplishment. I strongly recommend this book of Feri knowledge, practice, and magic to anyone who is really serious about their Craft. This is hard work, but gratifying.

The Earth Path gets into the real world of Nature, where the Witch belongs. If you are interested in learning more about developing a relationship with the Natural world, I recommend this very practical, Earth-based work.

My other reading has been three unrelated books, but they have shared a common thread.

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn: The story of a teacher and a pupil, the narrative arc in this book is weak, but serves as a sort of a template through which the reader can learn what Ishmael has to teach. Humans have broken the "law of life." We perceive ourselves as not only special, but as better than other creatures. The world belongs to us, and we can use it in any way we like. We bear no responsibility to the Earth or her other residents... in fact, the Earth was created just for our use. Creation has ceased, as we were the end goal. The Earth is ours, and we hold the special knowledge of the gods: what should live and what should die. This is the way humans think and behave in the "civilized" world. Of course, these attitudes are slowly killing us, as we hurtle forward, slaughtering animals and plants we perceive as useless to us.

Nickel and Dimed: On (not) getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich: I forgot, for a little while, how much it sucks to be among the working poor. I waited tables for nine years, and have worked a few years of retail as well. I've never been a housekeeper, the other job Ehrenreich worked during her research for this book, but it was easy enough to visualize. Ehrenreich shows the hopelessness of the working poor: you get up, you go to work, maybe you go to a second job, you struggle to pay your rent and bills, and people treat you like a criminal of some kind. I got out of poverty the same way most single mothers do: I got married. I adore my husband, but you shouldn't have to get married to get out of poverty.

Which leads to the book I am currently reading: Somebodies and Nobodies, by Robert W. Fuller. This book picks up, in a way, where Nickel and Dimed leaves off. Fuller even quotes from Ehrenreich's book in his first chapter, when he explains his idea of "rankism," the prejucide against anyone of lower societal rank. The working poor are particular victims of this, but Fuller posits that any "ism" (sexism, racism, etc.) is based on the perception of lower social rank. He espouses dignitarian society: one where we are each treated with dignity, regardless of our social rank.

Ishmael and Somebodies and Nobodies also have their own webpages for discussion amongst readers:

Ishmael

Dignitarian Foundation
Dignitarian Dialogues
Breaking Ranks

Posted by Jean at 11:11 AM | Permalink | Comments

Here's an article based on interviews with Starhawk and Thorn. Thanks to Jason Pitz-Waters over at Wildhunt Blog for tipping me off to this.

Living life as a witch isn't everything you might think it is

from the Alameda Times-Star
By Candace Murphy, STAFF WRITER

She looks like anyone you might cross paths with at the corner market. Dressed in earthy blue denims and a lime green velour pull-over, her head a mess of untamed, graying locks, she could be peering over a bin of tomatoes.

But this day, she's not. Instead, this unassuming woman is at a bookstore, peering over a bin of books about witchcraft. Her eyes roam slowly over the titles. "The Second Circle: Tools for the Advancing Pagan." "The Circle Within: Creating a Wiccan Spiritual Tradition." "Essential Wicca."

Her name is Starhawk. This is her reading material. And she's a modern-day witch. She's just one of many, too, as witchcraft is considered by some to be one of the fastest growing religions in the United States.

Of course, it's not easy being a witch.

Click here to read the rest.

Posted by Jean at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments

Did you see the total lunar eclipse last night? How cool was that?! I watched some of the eclipse with a friend, and finished planting a few bulbs in a garden devoted to my beloved Peacock God.

Posted by Jean at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments

Samhain
Witches Weekly for the week of October 23, 2004

What does the Samhain/Celtic New Year/All Hallows Eve mean to you?

For me, this is a time of year when I want to gather close with my family and friends, as the dark and cold come on. I feel the ancestors close, and I know that this is their time of year.


Do you do anything special to celebrate or commemorate this sabbat?

I volunteer for and attend the local Reclaiming public ritual. This is a special thing for me because I don't usually go to the public rituals, so Samhain and Beltane are times when I do go and connect with my larger community. Also, the names of the newly dead and the newly born are read, and that feels like important ancestor and community work for me. The year my maternal grandmother died, we keened for the dead at the Samhain ritual. I cried and wailed and pounded the floor, missing my grandma; it was a very gratifying experience to be in a safe space for loud, passionate mourning.

I often cook a big meal for my family, which is special because my husband usually does most of the cooking at home. I set ancestor photos and a plate for the dead at the end of the table, and have been known to make my family talk about their memories of the dead. The kids usually go trick-or-treating then, even though my daughter is really getting too old for that. She's small, though, so she passes for younger. :-)


What does the coming Winter mean to you in terms of spirituality?

A quieter time, a time of reflection, a time to connect with my family and tend my hearth. This particular Winter, I will spend making sure my container for the Work is strong and supports me well.

Posted by Jean at 3:31 PM | Permalink | Comments

Wiccans halt Halloween for school kids
By ERIC WILKINSON / KING 5 News

PUYALLUP, Wash. - Six-year-old Molly Macon was looking forward to wearing her cheerleader costume and celebrating Halloween with her schoolmates, until her mom got this letter saying there would be "no observance" of Halloween at Puyallup schools.

"I just think it's wrong and that it's not fair to the children," said said her mother.

The school district says it got calls from witches - yes, actual witches - complaining about the continuation of ugly stereotypes.

"That witches are portrayed with pointy noses and flying on broomsticks," said Karen Hansen, Puyallup School District.

The district says it is just trying to be sensitive to individual religious beliefs, whether you're a practicing catholic or practicing witchcraft.

Click here to read the rest.

OK, I get the point. We are not green-faced, warty old hags. Well, not most of us, anyway. But really, don't you just think this goes too far?

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. I have happy, even delightful, memories of my childhood Halloweens. For years, I dressed as a clown... my normally non-domestic mother spent hours sewing extraordinary clown costumes for my sisters and I when we were very young. We wore them for years, because one of the great things about clown costumes is they still work when they're too small. Legs too short? Stripey socks will do the trick! Clowns are supposed to look silly! Then came the makeup. Not one to skimp on life's really important things, Mom bought real greasepaint, and did amazing clown makeup on each of us three girls. After trick-or-treating was over, out came the Noxema to scrub away the makeup, leaving each of us with a glowing, clean, red, sore face. Of course, the three of us were pretty much over the clown thing long before my mother was. But eventually, none of us could fit into any of the costumes, and got to move on to other Halloween fantasies.

As a teenager and young woman, I really liked sexy costumes for Halloween. A black cat. A black widow spider. A prostitute (when I was 15... I can't believe my mother allowed it!). A can-can dancer. A gypsy. As I got older, I became more willing to try on scarier costumes: A ghoul. A vampire. A bloody dead girl.

School was, for my friends and me, a fabulous opportunity to show off our costumes, to play Halloween make-believe, and to get candy at school. Costumes were not just for trick-or-treat, but to wear all day long. So much fun!

So why would people want to take this away from kids? Because they are offended at the "stereotypes" of witches. I was like that for a little while myself, so I do understand where those folks are coming from.

When my kids got old enough to begin to understand that I was a Witch, I made sure they understood the difference between "real Witches" and "fairy-tale witches." Whenever we saw depictions or heard stories of witches, I would ask them what kind of witch it was (usually the fairy-tale type). Then we would talk about the real Witches we knew: me, some of our family friends, one of my sisters.... What I found is that the line between fairy-tale witches and real Witches was clear and distinct, if you know what real Witches are.

Besides, in my middle-age, I find myself re-embracing the crone, the old, scary hag with a wart on her crooked nose. She knows things, secret things, dark things, and yes, scary things. This is the time of the Dead, the time of seeing that which we cannot usually see. Maybe that includes the frightening wisdom of the fairy-tale witch, of scary old Baba Yaga, who challenges and tests us.

Changing the stereotypes of witches goes far beyond Halloween decorations. The problem is not that people think we have warts on our noses. The problem that people have with Witches is that we represent a fundamentally different relationship to the world. One built on, ideally, respect for the Earth and for our proper place in it, while mainstream culture still relates to the planet as if She belongs to us, instead of us belonging to Her. That's a problem that's not going away any time soon.

Posted by Jean at 1:34 PM | Permalink | Comments

The election is coming quickly now. Please get involved, and above all, VOTE!

Be the Wind: On the Upcoming Elections
by Starhawk

As you read this, a mother in Iraq is newly wailing over the body of a dead child. A nineteen year old kid who used to be the star of his basketball team is being sent home without legs. A father in Guantanamo hasn’t seen his kids, or sunlight, for three years. Another chunk breaks off the polar ice caps and the heat trapped by greenhouse gases churns the atmosphere into new swirls of turbulence like those that unleashed four hurricanes in one season in the Caribbean. As I type this sentence, another worker loses her union job, another child is shot in Palestine, another farmer somewhere drinks pesticides in despair.

The stakes are really high right now. And the future is very unclear. It seems likely the outcome of the elections will be a cliff hanger until the very end. Bush could win. Kerry could win. Bush could try to manipulate, steal, or subvert the outcome. His forces could manufacture a last-minute surprise—unearth Bin Laden, say, or stage a terrorist attack. They could even try to postpone or cancel elections altogether. After all, this particular gang of thugs has for decades plotted, planned, schemed, manipulated and murdered to consolidate their power—why should they let it go for anything as simple as a fair election?

I don’t know when I’ve seen so many people so deeply afraid, staring into the future like a rabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck. Will it run us down? Do we try to deflect its path, or run away?

I’m hearing two schools of thought among progressives. Some are heading to swing states to help get out the vote. Others are saying, ‘Why vote?’ when both candidates are taking such similar positions on the war, and serve the same corporate interests.

I’m a direct action kind of gal, and I don’t generally put a lot of energy into electoral politics. But I believe that we need to vote. We need to do all we can to keep the neocons behind Bush from further consolidating their power.

Please go to Starhawk's page to read the rest...

Posted by Jean at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments

This weeks questions were donated by: Liv

Do you wear any religious symbol jewelry/clothing? If so do you wear it openly in public?

I used to always wear a pentacle on a chain around my neck. Now I wear a black heart on my chain, as this is more specific to my path. However, I wear a pentacle ring on my first finger of my right hand, have a pentacle tattoo on my ankle, and sometimes wear "witchy" t-shirts (eg, "Nothing says lovin' like something from the coven!"). If people have a problem, mainly I feel the problem is theirs. Generally, I find that people don't know what the symbols mean anyway. I've always worn Pagan jewelry openly.

How do you feel about the issue of wearing religious symbols in schools and how some young teens are forced to remove their religious fashions?

I support the right of religious teens to wear their religious symbols in school... whether they are pentacles, headscarves, or those obnoxious T-shirts with the bloody Jesus on them. It's a matter of the First Amendment and civil rights to personal expression.

Have you ever experienced a confrontation about wearing your jewlery in public? How did you handle the situation if so?

I have had a few things happen, but not for some time now. Actually, the most recent thing was a few years ago, when someone assumed I was Jewish because of my pentacle. She assumed it was a Star of David. "Oh, no," I assured her, leaning over, "I'm not Jewish... I'm a Witch!" Her eyes became very big, which amused me greatly.

Really, though, you'd think people would be able to tell the difference between the six-pointed Star of David and the five-pointed pentagram! I used to have a dear friend who liked to respond to this confusion: "Oh, I used to be Jewish, but I lost a 'point' for behavior!"

Upon seeing my pentacle, a few people have cautioned me about going to hell, but I generally ignore them. Mostly people just ask what it means, and my standard response is "the four sacred elements, plus spirit as the fifth element, and the circle binds them together." That doesn't weird them out too much, usually.

Posted by Jean at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments

New worms arrived yesterday. They were alive and well and happy, and are now in their cozy comfy worm bin. The only complication is that I think the Earth Machine I am intending to use might be too vulnerable to a) dog piss; b) water collecting underneath; and c) freezing this winter. I'll go out at lunch and look at big plastic tubs that can be elevated to allow drainage. A tub can be moved inside if it gets too cold. We have reasonably mild winters here, but we did get a couple of nasty snow and ice storms last year that are making me feel nervous about my wormies overwintering OK. All you can really see in this photo is the worm bedding, which is as it should be. Healthy worms prefer the bottom of their container, and wriggle away from the top as soon as it's opened.

Posted by Jean at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments

A great article by Jennifer Van Bergen from NYC Indymedia....

The Beast from the Depths of Chaos:
Astro-mythology & the Bush Gang
by Jennifer Van Bergen

With all that the Bush administration does or does not do, it is remarkable that no one in the progressive community has yet bothered to do an astrological analysis of the charts of its key members. Here, therefore, I remedy this appalling failure on the part of the progressive press. Whether you believe in astrology or not, this analysis should provide you with some interesting insights into the characters of and relationships between the members of the Bush crew.
I have focused here primarily on the effects of two planets: Pluto and Saturn, between the charts of Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld (and to a lesser extent, Ashcroft). Remarkably, there are an extraordinary number of Pluto and Saturn contacts between them.

Mythological Meanings of Saturn & Pluto

Even if you are not knowledgeable about astrology, you may know about the mythological meanings of the Greek gods. Pluto was the god of the Underworld. Pluto, “also known as the prince of darkness, governs the kingdom of the dead.”
While the planet Pluto is a tiny body and its existence was not confirmed until 1930, taking about 250 years to circle around the Sun, it is considered to be the ruling planet of the sign of Scorpio, which has been a recognized astrological sign for thousands of years. It’s a reasonable assignment, since the theme of both Pluto and Scorpio is the cycle of birth and death.

Pluto’s father was Saturn, also called Kronos, the keeper of Time. Saturn, the second largest planet in the solar system, taking almost 30 years to orbit the Sun, is the most remote of the seven visible planets. It was discovered in the 19th century. According to Greek mythology, Saturn overthrew his father, Uranus, by castrating him, and then ate his children, among whom were Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto.

Jupiter, who was rescued by his mother, Rhea, made Uranus disgorge all of the other children. Jupiter then exiled Saturn to Italy, where Janus gave him a home. There, Saturn “introduced such widespread prosperity that his reign was remembered as ‘the Golden Age,’” and the Romans celebrated this era each year at the end of December, with a festival known as “Saturnalia.”

The interplay, thus, of Pluto and Saturn is rich with deep archetypal meaning. Pluto contacts are often ignored by astrologers as being “generational influences,” but as astrologer Liz Greene says, “if one takes into account Pluto’s association with certain collective psychic energies, he has potentially a very powerful effect on individual man since each person must make his own pact with these collective energies.” In my experience, close Pluto contacts between the “personal planets” within the chart of an individual indicates some highly unhealthy and destructive propensities. A Saturn/Pluto combination is one of the deepest and darkest. I have found this combination more than any other in the charts of serial killers, as well as in those of persons with multiple personality disorder, who are not criminals but whose basic sense of self has been shattered by severe early traumas. It seems as though Saturn/Pluto can work either to break the spirit or irretrievably harden it.

While a number of the members of the Bush crew contain separate internal hard Pluto or Saturn aspects in their charts, none of them contain internal Saturn-to-Pluto contacts. However, remarkably, the charts of Bush, Rumsfeld, and Cheney contain numerous Pluto/Saturn contacts between them: that is, Pluto in one person’s chart connects to Saturn in another person’s chart, or to (personal) planets in various combinations.

Pluto/Saturn contacts are not often found between colleagues, since the contacts “will generally precipitate an immediate power struggle” in which “both people can sense that it is desperately important who wins this battle because it will decide who in the end controls the relationship.”

But if Saturn and Pluto pair up, such contacts indicate, to put it simply, a criminal enterprise, each person providing a prop to one or more other person’s darkest ambitions and pursuits. As Liz Greene says, “Pluto is Saturn’s only real friend in the planetary hierarchy, although, as the saying goes, with a friend such as this, one has no need of enemies.”

Go here to read the rest....

Posted by Jean at 6:50 AM | Permalink | Comments

Which book has influenced your path the most and why? What person has influenced your path the most and why?

I'll answer these two together. Since I just got back from the bookstore, where I bought Thorn Coyle's book, Evolutionary Witchcraft, so for now, I'll say that this is the book and the person that's influenced my path the most. At least that's true for now.

The book's only just come out, but I went through a two-year training (which was the basis for this book) with Thorn. Of course, I've been influenced by other books, particularly Starhawk's books, and Scott Cunningham, back in the day. And in recent years, I've been influenced by Feri writings such as Witch Eye, but working with Thorn has really changed my perspectives on Witchcraft and its meaning and purpose. She has a lot to do with my belief that a Witch must be a Witch in the world, not just in circle and on the astral and so forth. Those things are a part of Witchcraft, but for me, the real work is about connecting with our own divinity, manifesting our whole and sacred selves in the world. Of course, as a triple Taurus, I'm already inclined to a practical, earthly view of things, but Thorn really helped me to flesh some of this out. I cannot recommend her book highly enough for those who are really serious about the Craft.

I have more about my influences here.

Why are you pagan?

Because this is the path that called out to my Soul.

Posted by Jean at 1:58 PM | Permalink | Comments

The truth about Columbus is that he never discovered America. There were already people here, for one thing. The allegedly hot-tempered explorer stole from, murdered, raped, mutilated, and enslaved the Native people of Hispaniola.

Columbus wrote in his journal:

"They don't bear arms and do not know of them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance...They would make fine servants...With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want."

And that's just what they did, right unto the Arawak's near-extinction. They shipped slaves back to Europe, though most died on the way. Other slaves were kept in Hispanola mining gold for the Europeans; if they couldn't produce enough gold, their hands were lopped off by Columbus and his crew. The Natives were so miserably mistreated that mothers drown their infants to save them from the suffering and slow death. Pick up a copy of Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States for more of the real story.

Now, of course, some people think that what Columbus did when he came to this country is just great. In "Columbus Day: A Time to Celebrate" by Michael S. Berliner, Ph.D. at The Ayn Rand Institute, Berliner writes:

Prior to 1492, what is now the United States was sparsely inhabited, unused, and undeveloped. The inhabitants were primarily hunter/gatherers, wandering across the land, living from hand to mouth and from day to day. There was virtually no change, no growth for thousands of years. With rare exception, life was nasty, brutish, and short: there was no wheel, no written language, no division of labor, little agriculture and scant permanent settlement; but there were endless, bloody wars. Whatever the problems it brought, the vilified Western culture also brought enormous, undreamed-of benefits, without which most of today's Indians would be infinitely poorer or not even alive.

Well, Mr. Berliner may think life was "nasty, brutish, and short" before Columbus came, but there's no doubt that life for the Natives was nasty and short after Columbus came. It's as if Mr. Berliner thinks Natives couldn't have evolved without us nifty white folks killing them and stealing their land.

Columbus Day should be abolished--you can sign a petition here.

Posted by Jean at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments

How did you choose the specific path you're on? (Druid, Wiccan, Sumerian)

I said, "Eeenie, meenie, minie, mo...."

No, not really. I'm just in a silly mood today. I'd say that more than me choosing my path, my path has really evolved for me over time. When I found Witchcraft, I thought all Wicca was really the same. I knew very little about different traditions and so on. I was learning from books--mostly OK ones-- and friends--also mostly OK. Even after I learned a little more, like that British Traditional Wicca didn't feel right for me, I just considered myself "eclectic." Finally, in the mid-'90s, I was working with a circle, and one of my circle mates got involved with Reclaiming Tradition. She told me about how wonderful this "witchcamp" was that she went to. I went to the camp a year or so later, and found my home: Reclaiming tradition. What I like about RT (Reclaiming Trad) is the emphasis on being your own authority, and the feminism and anarchism of the tradition. Also, RT is unafraid of politics or opinion; the pantheon is whatever gods you personally choose to work with; initiation is completely optional and personalized, with a focus on personal growth. I also like the ritual structure, trancework, spontaneity, and ecstatic practice RT uses.

My other, related path is Feri. I found out about Feri through my Reclaiming work, as Reclaiming is rooted in Feri practice, though Reclaiming is more community focused than Feri seems to be. Then I was finally introduced to some Feri practices by T. Thorn Coyle, who gave her Peacock God workshop in my area a few years ago. What I love about Feri is the wildness of it, the emphasis on individuality, and freedom. I love the ecstatic practices, the striving to know oneself, the tenets of not coddling weakness and not submitting one's life force to another. I love that it is a sex (or life) cult. I love the gods of Feri. I love the Iron Pentacle, which is common to both traditions, but originates in Feri.

What do you feel you contribute to the pagan community?

I sometimes volunteer at public rituals, or contribute ideas and thoughts on email lists. I'd have to say, though, that my most important contribution has been starting a coven. The coven has gone through some changes lately, and we're a consensus-run coven, but I did get the ball rolling, which I'm quite proud of. And then there's just me being a good person and letting non-Pagans see what Pagans might be like.

How long have you been an active member of the pagan community?

About 16 years, but I drop in and out of the larger community. I tend to stay connected to a few people, and the larger, public community is often missing the intimacy and connection I enjoy in smaller groups.

Posted by Jean at 4:27 PM | Permalink | Comments

One Earth Machine, to be used as a wormbin


One tub of worms, in worm bedding



A little closer...


Ah, crap, they're freaking DEAD!

It's OK. I called my worm supplier, and they said they'd had several people call them about similar problems from the last shipment. They must have died in a hot post office truck or something. She said it doesn't happen often, but sometimes shipping goes bad. They'll send me out a new pound of worms on Tuesday. No mail on Monday because of Columbus Day.

Posted by Jean at 9:31 AM | Permalink | Comments

I've got worms! No, not that kind. This kind:

I'm starting a vermicomposting (worm composting) project at home. It all started when Hubby asked me to clean out the compost bins in our yard. He's somewhat handicapped, so there's no way he could do this chore. The compost bins had been there for quite some time, and there was lots of old brown material, not decayed or composted much at all, in both bins. While I was cleaning out the Earth Machine, I started thinking that we should really try composting a little more seriously. I mean, wouldn't it be a great thing to do with garden scraps and all those coffee grounds I throw out every morning?

So I started to look into regular composting, but I quickly decided that we might not have enough "brown" waste (dried leaves, dry grass, straw, etc.) for standard composting. In retrospect, that's probably not really true, but I'm very lazy, and it sounded like a lot of work, keeping the green/brown balance right and so on. Certainly, it seemed that just dumping stuff into the bin and ignoring it for three years wasn't really doing the trick.

In come the worms. Red wigglers, to be specific. In fact, in an amazing moment of synchronicity, I picked up Starhawk's new book, The Earth Path, and open up to... you guessed it, worm composting! Besides, I'm focusing my elemental work this year on Earth, so composting fits right into that.

So I went to the local nursery, but found that they don't sell worms. They turned me on to a local worm farm, though, and I ordered my worms last week. I shredded a bunch of newspaper for their bedding and put it in the Earth Machine this morning. By the way, the Earth Machine isn't for worm composting, and it's really bigger than would be ideal, but I think it'll work fine. My son called me on my lunch break today to let me know my worms were delivered this afternoon. I'm very excited, and ready to go home and tuck in my wormies! Photos of my worms and bin to come.

Posted by Jean at 3:25 PM | Permalink | Comments

from the Interfaith Alliance...

Q1. What role should and does your religious faith and values play in creating public policy?

Q2. What are your views on the Constitutional guarantee of the separation of church and state?

Q3. What active steps have you taken and will you continue to take to show respect for the variety of religious beliefs among your constituents?

Q4. Should a political leader’s use of religious language reflect the language of his/her religious tradition, or be more broadly inclusive?

Q5. How do you balance the principles of your faith and your pledge to defend the Constitution, particularly when the two come into conflict?

Posted by Jean at 10:04 AM | Permalink | Comments

So, my blogroll is down again. I emailed Blogrolling yesterday, but haven't had a response yet. I'm bummed. I guess I'd better go to a permanent blog list in my template. They'll never get me to buy an account at this rate!

Posted by Jean at 8:51 AM | Permalink | Comments

Thanks to Mama Moon at was it the Pagan remark? for hipping me to the Third Annual Boobiethon! The Boobiethon--which runs from October 1, 2004 until October 10, 2004--raises money for the AIDS Walk 2004 / Rock the Walk and for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The history of the Boobiethon can be found at Electric Bugaloo.

See covered breasts for free!
See bare breasts for money!
Be titillated and generous!

Yes, my boobies are there too, in both covered and uncovered varieties. They're small but quite cute.

Please help support the boobies!

Posted by Jean at 9:02 AM | Permalink | Comments